geog368ufandomcom-20200213-history
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Ancient people, who appear to have come from present-day Eurasia, lived in the area that encompasses the modern state of Pennsylvania about 12,000 years ago. Evidence indicates that the first people to live in this area, generally referred to as Paleo-Indians, eventually spread throughout present-day North America into several distinct groups. More modern American Indians, living in the area of present-day Pennsylvania in the 1600s, included the Lenape (later called the Delaware by the Europeans). The Lenape lived along the Delaware River, south of the Kittatinny Mountains, and on the Piedmont (Peters & Hart, p.27). When the first Europeans set foot in Pennsylvania, about 15,000 American Indians most likely lived there. When the first Europeans set foot in Pennsylvania, about 15,000 American Indians most likely lived there. In 1638 the European settlers in present-day Pennsylvania carried the Swedish flag. They made a lasting contribution to the frontier by introducing the log cabin. Pennsylvania fell under English rule after Holland took control of New Sweden (present day Philadelphia). The European power struggled over control of North America. King Charles II of England owed the equivalent of $80,000 to William Penn. William Penn asked King Charles to settle the debt by giving him a large tract of land in North America. Penn was a Quaker and wanted a place where the practice of religious beliefs could be practice freely. Penn’s Holy Experiment gave birth to Pennsylvania’s diversity. Pennsylvania was so named due to the abundance of trees in the area. Sylvania is Latin for “woods”. King Charles wanted to honor the father of William Penn, Sir William Penn, whom the original debt was owed, and named the area “Penn woods” or Pennsylvania. Although Penn’s ideas of religious freedom gave the Quakers, Mennonites, and Amish a home in Pennsylvania, this tolerance had restrictions for certain groups. For example, Pennsylvania’s original charter prevented non-Christians, such as Jews and Muslims, from voting or holding political office. Penn’s definition of freedom also did not include enslaved Africans or African Americans. Penn himself was a slave owner (Peters & Hart, p.32). Slavery The ship Isabella carried 150 slaves to Philadelphia in 1684. Though Quakers, Mennonites, and African Americans later worked together to abolish slavery, Quaker merchants of the time were as guilty as anyone of profiting from the slave trade. By 1700, there were several hundred slaves in the colony, and by the mid 1700s there were several thousand (Fradin, p.56). Quakers felt uneasy about slavery; in part because they had doubts about the propriety of owning another person, but also because they feared it was a luxury that marked them as worldly, and in part because they feared Africans would be a bad influence on their families. The surrender of slavery was a minor disruption to most Pennsylvania Quakers lives, slavery in Pennsylvania had died of the market economy long before Quaker morality shifted against it. Despite the spike in the 1760’s, there were never enough critical mass of slaveholding in Pennsylvania to produce a slave-based agriculture economy. In 1730, about one in 11 Pennsylvanians had been slaves (including indentured servants); by 1779 the figure was more than one in 30. The lack of support structure by this time prevented it from catching on, even during the peak of slave importation. Today African Americans number about one million, 90 percent of whom live in the Philadelphia area (Peters & Hart, p.51). The Amish Known as the Pennsylvania Dutch, members of the Amish sect have farmed in Lancaster County for centuries. Many of their ancestors fled religious persecution for centuries. The Amish are deeply religious people who live on beautiful farms throughout Pennsylvania and the Midwest. Descended from a German-speaking Swiss religious group, Amish people do not believe in using modern conveniences because they feel closer to God of they live a simple, plain life. They have lived much the same way since joining William Penn’s holy experiment (Peters & Hart, p.54). The Amish are a unique and gifted group. When traveling the back roads near their farms, it is advisable to watch out for horse-drawn buggies, the traditional mode of transportation for Amish people. Amish children attend school until the eighth grade and will work on their family farms thereafter. Visitors should ask for permission before taking pictures of the Amish. Deer' Lake' Deer Lake is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. A quarter mile up a steep, twisting country road, the camp sits perched on a ridge and six acres, overlooking the Poconos, about a 1½-hour drive northwest of Philadelphia.In 1972 Muhammad Ali built a “one of a kind” training camp in Deer Lake. Ali loved western movies and built cabins on the site, similar to what he saw in cowboy movies. A boxing gym, where Ali spent countless hours honing his craft is the main attraction of the camp. Traditionally boxers will seclude themselves while training for a major bout. It is a long standing tradition for elite boxers to travel far away from the city, to receive the benefits of fresh air and miles of hilly terrain to run on. The isolation helps develop the fighter’s focus and eliminates distractions. The Deer Lake community was founded as a resort town serving coal barons and other members of the wealthy and elite of nearby Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Today Ali’s Spartan camp serves as a bed and breakfast. Agriculture Even though the number of farms is decreasing, about 800,000 Pennsylvanians are employed in agriculture. They furnish products ranging from beef and poultry to fruit and timber. Pennsylvania farmers raise the fourth largest number of dairy cows in the United States, and the state has the fifth largest milk production in the country. Pennsylvania poultry produces the third largest number of eggs in the nation. Raising turkeys and farming trout are also successful. Pennsylvania leads the nation in pounds of mushroom grown; in 2006-2007, the state contributed more than 60 percent of the total U.S. production. Horse breeding is another important Industry in the state (Peters & Hart, p.73). ' http://www.edephotography.com/nature/nature.php?id=6 http://www.edephotography.com/nature/nature.php?id=6 Bibliography Peters, S. & Hart, j. (2009). Pennsylvania: Celebrate the States. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendis Corporation. Fradin, D.B. (1988). Chicago. The Pennsylvania Colony. Chicago, IL : Regensteiner Publishing Enterprises, INC. Category:The Northeast Group #1 James Jackson